Slowly taking over
by Baxxie
Summary: Carlos has only gotten sick twice in his entire life. His friends envy him, but they don't realize the consequences. Because when he does get sick, it's about ten times worse than for any normal person. It might even become life-threatening...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Exhaustion is the first sign...

Carlos Garcia doesn't mind putting his own life in danger to perform dangerous stunts. He feels invincible. Not because he never gets hurt, because he does. A lot. But more because he never gets sick. Well, almost never. In his whole life, Carlos has only gotten sick twice. Bad news was, both times, it was a lot worse than it should have been...

The first time was when he was just 9 months old. Of course he doesn't remember this, but his parents and four older siblings have told him many times. He got a very bad case of colic. This usually just causes babies to feel pain in their bellies and cry a lot. But he cried so much, his parents went straight to a doctor, who proceeded to send them straight to the hospital because of the fever and infection that had already started. He spent three weeks in the children's ward, of which two weeks on the intensive care. His parents were just glad he survived.

Then, strangely enough, he did not get sick again until he was four years old. Every child gets the chicken pox. It's normal and just something to go through. It itches and causes them to feel yucky and then after a few weeks of ointments and a lot of baths, it's over. At least, that's what it should be like. For Carlos, it started out like this as well. His skin started to itch and he felt sleepy a lot. His parents noticed right away when their usually bouncing child slumped down on the couch with them and didn't feel like moving all day. Then, they noticed the tiny red spots and the slightly flushed cheeks of the small Latino boy. They took him straight to bed and called the doctor to ask how to handle it.

The first two days Carlos' condition didn't change. He just slept a lot and let his parents smother him with attention. He loved it, despite all the itchiness and feeling so tired. His dad played video games with him, while his mother watched cartoons with him and gave him a lot of kisses and hugs. At the end of the day they tucked him in. His mother rocked him to sleep and sang to him, as his eyes slowly drooped.

the first sign that he wasn't getting better, was when Antonio Garcia woke up in the middle of the night to his son's screaming. He ran for the bedroom and his heart dropped at the sight of his son crying and screaming his lungs out. His entire body was covered in angry looking red spots, which now caused him pain instead of itching. Antonio panicked and called for his wife that they were going to the hospital. It was difficult, because every touch seemed very painful to the young boy. At the hospital, the doctors were baffled at what happened. Never had they seen a case like this. Chicken Pox weren't supposed to hurt. In the meantime, Carlos had stopped crying and his eyes glazed over. That is when they noticed how much heat he seemed to be giving off and then the seizure started.

His parents watched in horror as the young boy's body trashed around involuntarily. The doctors tried to keep them away and tried to calm the boy down. They admitted him right away and started to research on how to help him. Carlos spent four weeks in the hospital this time and his parents were relieved to see his eyes open and hearing him laugh. Carlos only remembers bits and pieces of being sick this time. he definitely doesn't remember spending all that time in the hospital. In his mind, he was there for two days before the doctors let him go home.

Two weeks later he started school and he met his three best friends. His parents were very careful with him, keeping a watchful eye on everything he did. They wouldn't allow Carlos to do too many things, in fear of him getting sick again and this time maybe not surviving. But their little boy didn't respond well to this. Like all kids, he tried hard to do exactly those things he wasn't allowed to do the moment he left the house. His friends just laughed and joined in with his crazy antics and stunts. His parents noticed and yelled at him for it. Didn't he realize how dangerous those stunts were? For protection, they tried to pull him out of school and wanted to home school him. They found out just how much Carlos didn't want this, when he ran away. When they found him again two days later, hidden away in Kendall Knight's tree house, they were so glad he was home, but they were sure home schooling was the best option.

Carlos cried his little eyes out. It wasn't that he liked school. Who did? But they couldn't pull him away from his friends. They were his brothers and he needed them. His parents were astonished at how much he had attached himself to the three little boys and were afraid maybe it only went one way. But they found out just how strong their friendship was, when those three little boys separately and together came to inform the grownups exactly why Carlos couldn't stay home. The Garcia's watched in amusement at how they used puppet shows, theatrical acts and even charts (made by the way too smart Hortense Mitchell) to prove that Carlos would die if they kept him at home and away from his friends. But not matter how amazing the parents found these 'presentations', they had made their minds up. It was too dangerous for Carlos to go to school.

Then, the boys suddenly showed just how observant they were. Well, at least Hortense did. They figured out why the Garcia's wanted to home school the boy and came up with a way to convince them there was another way to keep him safe. All three the boys promised they would look after him and make sure that he stopped performing the dangerous stunts.

The Garcia's weren't convinced, until the boys came up with the best plan yet. Kendall, James and Hortense somehow managed to get their parents to give them extra allowance and had gotten together to buy the small Latino a black hockey helmet for protection. Carlos was ecstatic and put it on right away. His parents were so baffled by the continuous attempts of his friends to keep him in school they finally gave in. They still kept a close watch on his every move, but after not getting sick for five more years, they decided he was even allowed to join the hockey team. They pretended they didn't know about all the stunts he still pulled, because he seemed happier than ever. They almost changed their minds when he had hit his head so hard, he needed a metal plate to protect his brain. But once again, the boys banded together and convinced them everything would be fine and he would be careful.

They didn't know how they did it, but the Garcia's started to get used to visiting their mijo in the hospital all the time. Maybe it was because of the huge grin he kept on his features every single time. But it seemed far different from both moments when he got sick. They even let him go to LA with his friends when he was 16. Mainly because he still hadn't gotten sick in 12 years.

His friends still don't believe that he never gets sick. Even though they spend more time with him than his parents do. But if they are honest, they have noticed it. Even when the entire Palm Woods gets sick, Carlos doesn't even sneeze. He always seems to avoid all of the viruses and his friends are jealous of it. The Latino himself always rubs it in their faces and then proceeds to take care of them, since he can't help it. He thinks of himself as a superhero, invincible. But his friends know differently, with all the injuries he gets. Carlos just claims he is invincible, because germs have no effect on him. He has tried to prove it to them by eating food that should be thrown away, which oddly enough had no effect. His friends stopped arguing him after they had to throw up themselves watching him drink an entire gallon of milk gone bad.

Needless to say, Carlos feels strong, like he can handle anything. He holds endless amounts of energy, no matter how hard record producer Gustavo Rocque makes him and his friends work. He can dance and sing for hours and besides falling into a deep sleep when he goes to lie down, it doesn't affect him. Another thing his friends are jealous of and find very annoying, especially because his ADD tendencies are bounced off of them all day.

It's 6AM when an alarm clock starts to wail in Kendall and Logan, aka Hortense,'s bedroom. A hand reaches out from underneath the covers and hits the off button. Logan Mitchell sits up slowly and stretches his body. He looks over towards the other bed and with a grin throws a pillow directly for the sleeping blond in it. A loud groan is heard when it hits him in the head with a thud. Logan sighs and slowly walks over to the bed.

"Come on, Kendall. We have to be at the studio in an hour." He says with a yawn. He stretches again an then winces as his muscles are still strained from the gruesome dance rehearsal the day before. The blond just grumbles and turns around.

Logan sighs impatiently. "Every morning..." He mumbles to himself and reaches over to shake his friend.

"Come on, Kendall." The blond groans again and pushes himself further into his pillow. Logan rolls his eyes. "You know, I can just get Carlos to wake you up instead." He says and starts to walk away. In an instant, the blond shoots out of bed with wide eyes.

"I'm up, I'm up." He mention in defense and then winces as his muscles too feel strained.

Logan chuckles. "You want to take a shower first? Better hurry before James hogs the bathroom." Kendall nods and heads for the bathroom. But he is too slow and before realizing it, James runs past him and slams the door in his face. Kendall pounds on the door.

"James! For god's sake.." he yells as he keeps pounding and jiggling the door handle.

Logan shakes his head in amusement and walks into the kitchen.

"Goodmorning, Carlitos." He says with a smile. But as he really looks into the kitchen, he notices it's empty. the light isn't even on yet. He frowns and flicks on the lights, when Kendall shuffles in, grumbling under his breath. Logan still looks around with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Kendall asks him.

"I don't think Carlos is up yet." he mentions, sounding confused. Kendall looks around.

"How is that possible? He's always up before any of us." He says in response.

"Yeah, I know..." Logan mentions, trailing off.

"Maybe he went out already?" Kendall asks him as Logan starts to walk towards James' and Carlos' bedroom. He almost bumps into the brunette, who suddenly stops in the doorway. He looks ahead and raises his eyebrows. "Or he's still in bed."

The two walk towards the bed holding the still deep asleep Latino and watch him with crossed arms.

"I don't think I've ever had to wake him up before." Logan mentions, sounding unsure. Kendall ponders it for a second.

"Hm, come to thin of it, I think no one has." He says, before a sly grin makes it appearance on his features. Logan looks at him and his eyes grow wide.

"Kendall, no." he warns, but the blond is already walking backwards to get a head start.

"Hey, he has woken us up like this for years now. It's finally time to take revenge." he says with a mischievous grin. "Come on, Logie. You know you want to." He challengingly says. Logan looks back at the slumbering Latino and then back at Kendall.

"Alright, fine. But if he kills us, I'm blaming you." He says as he joins Kendall. The blond just grins.

"Dude, it's Carlos. He'll probably just laugh right with us." he says with a shrug. "Okay, ready?" he asks as they both get into position. Logan nods. "And... Go!"

With a sprint and a leap they throw their bodies on top of the sleeping Latino, who instantly wakes up with a loud groan. The two friends laugh out loud, but quickly stop when in a swift moment, they suddenly end up on the floor with a thud. They look up and stare into Carlos' glaring eyes.

"Jesus, dude..." Kendall complains as he helps Logan off of the floor. Carlos doesn't say a word, he just glares daggers at them and then gets out of bed and stalks towards the kitchen. "No need to be rude!" Kendall yells after him. "Well, I guess someone didn't wake up on the right side of the bed this morning." The blond whispers with a snicker in Logan's direction.

"That was kinda weird..." Logan ponders in response.

"Oh come on. He's just mad about the way we woke him up." Kendall shrugs. "At least now he knows how we feel." Logan still looks unsure, but follows his friend into the kitchen.

They are met with a peculiar sight. Carlos is trying to drag a chair towards the kitchen cabinets holding the cereal. Normally it wouldn't be placed this high, but Mrs. Knight decided that everyone needs to eat healthier, so all the sugary snacks are off limits.

"Uh, you do know you're not allowed to eat that, right?" Logan asks him. Carlos turns around swiftly with suck a death glare, that Logan steps behind Kendall for protection. He grumbles something under his breath and turns back to his job at hand.

"Okay then..." Kendall trails off with raised eyebrows. He walks forward towards the fridge and starts to take out the healthier breakfast items. Logan and Kendall set the table and keep an eye on the Latino who angrily slams the kitchen cabinets as he pulls out everything he needs and slams it all down on the counter. He starts to walk towards the kitchen table, not looking at anyone. He sets down the cereal and wants to set down his bowl, when he fumbles it and it falls to the ground with a loud shatter.

The guys look at him in surprise. He just sighs loudly and closes his eyes in frustration. He leans down and starts to pick up the shards quietly and slowly. Logan gets up and leans down next to him.

"Here, I'll help you." He softly says, giving the boy a warm smile. Carlos looks up in disbelief, but the anger is finally gone.

"Thank you..." He softly tells his friend, who just smiles and nods. "I'm sorry for how I reacted. I don't know what happened..." He trails off, but Logan shakes his head.

"It's okay, buddy. Everyone has a bad moment once in a while. Though I can't really remember you having one, ever. But there's a first time for everything, right?" He asks with a small grin. Carlos grins back and together they clean everything up. The Latino even lets Logan put the cereal back in the cabinets so he can eat healthier.

When James comes into the kitchen, he's not even aware of anything happening, even though he does notice the broken shards of a bowl in the trash can.

"We had a little accident." Logan explains, sending a smile towards Carlos, who smiles in return. James looks suspicious, but drops the subject.

After breakfast everyone goes to get ready to head towards the studio. Logan keeps a weary eye on Carlos, who keeps on yawning and seems slower than usual. Carlos has noticed, but he just throws his friend a huge smile to let him know he's okay. Logan puts it aside in his mind. Everyone gets tired, even Carlos. No need to worry.

But Carlos himself has noticed it as well. He wants to jump around and annoy everyone, but he doesn't seem to have the energy for it. It's not something he's used to, but maybe it's because he's getting older. Plus, they have been working really hard lately. His energy was bound to give out sometime.

They head outside and in the car. Kendall drives as James sits in the passenger seat, while Logan sits behind Kendall and Carlos behind James. The guys are talking and laughing animatedly. Carlos wants to join in now as well, but he can only smile as he watches them. He yawns and feels his eyes drooping. Unable to stop it, the motion of the car lets him fall into a deep sleep.

"Dude, you are so full of it. Gustavo is not going to let you sing a song by yourself. You get enough attention already, right Carlos?" Kendall asks with a grin as he looks into his rear view mirror. He frowns when he sees Carlos' head slumped against the window. "Carlos?" He asks again and turns around a little.

James is pouting and has his arms crossed, but when he hears Kendall asking this, he also turns around. Kendall goes back to driving, but keeps an eye on his friend.

Logan turns to him as well. "Carlos?" He quietly asks and shakes him lightly. The boy doesn't respond. He leans over and pulls his body a little towards him. He chuckles. "He's fast asleep."

The other two exchange a glance. "What?" "You can't be serious." They mention in disbelief.

"Carlos, yo!" Kendall asks, while James claps his hands. But Carlos doesn't even stir.

"Wow, he's completely out of it." Logan says in a near whisper as he tests his friend's reaction.

"Well, let's just enjoy it while it lasts." Kendall mentions with a grin. The rest of the ride is silent, while Carlos sleeps peacefully.

When they arrive at the studio, Kendall parks the car, while Logan tries to wake Carlos up.

"Carlos. Carlos, wake up, we're here." He quietly says, while shaking the boy. He keeps trying, but gets no reaction. He sends a pleading look towards his taller friends and shakes him a little harder. "Carlos, come on, buddy. We're at the studio. Carlos!"

"Here, let me try." James suggests and he takes out his water bottle with a grin. Kendall grabs it out of his hands with a warning look. James rolls his eyes. "Fine, take away my fun."

Kendall opens Carlos' door and squats down.

"Carlos? Carlos!" He calls out, also shaking the boy. Again no response. He goes to try again, when James yells out his name as loud as he can. Kendall sends him a stern look, while James holds up his hands in defense with a smirk on his lips.

But surprisingly, Carlos slowly starts to move around and opens up his eyes. Through half lidded eyes he peers around and notices his friends staring at him.

"Uh, hi..." He slowly says, while trying to blink away his sleep. "Did I fall asleep?" He asks, making his friends chuckle and shake their heads.

"Dude, you didn't just fall asleep, you were completely out of this world. Been trying to wake you up for half an hour." James tells him. Kendall sends him another look. "Dude, what's with all the buzz killing?" He says as he stalks off towards the studio. Kendall just shakes his head and sends an amusing smile towards Carlos and helps him out of the car. He stretches loudly.

"So, you fully awake now?" Kendall asks him. Carlos just nods with a smile. He watches as his blond friend runs for James and with a loud cry jumps on his back. James cries out and they start a small fight, while Kendall laughs. Carlos smiles, but keeps walking.

Logan walks up beside him. "Are you okay?" He softly asks and the boy looks up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess all this hard work is finally catching up to me, right?" He explains and Logan smiles. They laugh when James chases Kendall around the parking lot after the blond grabbed his lucky comb. Carlos then starts to run for them as well and asks Kendall to toss him the comb.

Logan shakes his head at the maturity level of his friends, but smiles amusingly. He keeps an eye on Carlos, because maybe he was just reacting to all the hard work. He seems to feel fine now.

Then Logan heads for his friends and quickly catches the comb mid-air when Carlos tosses it over James' head. The two whine loudly and James grins.

"Haha! Thanks, Logan. At least you're not mean." The pretty boy says as he walks towards his friend and holds out his hand. Logan just looks at his hand with raised eyebrows. James' grin fades, while the grins of the others appear again. "Logan, come on, give me the comb." Logan just walks away. "Logan, I'm not kidding. Give me my comb." He says, walking after him. Just then Logan smiles wickedly and runs off towards the studio entrance. "Logan!" James yells and runs after him, while Kendall and Carlos pound fists and laugh out loud.

_Five hours of gruelling dance rehearsal later..._

"No, no, no!" Mr. X yells for the tenth time in ten minutes, grabbing his hair in frustration. "What is wrong with you? You use your left foot, not your right! How many times do I have to show you?" He yells at Carlos and the others watch as he hangs his head and just nods. "Again!" he announces and the guys get back in their starting position.

He starts the music and the guys start their new dance routine for Show Me. It goes well for the first minute, but then Carlos fumbles again. He can no longer keep up with the fast paced moves and bumps into Kendall. Mr. X stops the music right away. Carlos looks up and gulps while he breathes heavily.

"I'm sorry, I can do better..." He says in a pleading tone, but Mr. X just shakes his head.

"No, I am X-done. Come back here tomorrow at 7AM and make sure you know the right steps. If you don't, don't bother showing up." He warns, before giving the X-signal one more time and then turning on his heal and walking away.

The guys stand frozen, while Carlos hangs his head and stands still. No one knows what to say.

"Carlos..." Kendall eventually starts, while placing a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. He shrugs it off immediately.

"Just don't." He softly tells him without looking up.

"You tried your best, everyone makes mistakes..." Logan tells him, trying to reassure his friend.

"He already taught us the dance yesterday and I still can't get it right..." He says in a dejected tone.

"It's okay..." Logan starts again, but Carlos turns away.

"I'm going to get some air. Just leave me alone for a while..." He says, sounding sad and walking out. The three others stare after him and exchange glances. They feel helpless.

Carlos slowly walks out with his head down. He heads outside and walks towards a small field behind the studio. He plops down in the grass and rests his head on his hands. He yawns again and sighs as a soft breeze washes over him.

He looks around and starts to pick grass absentmindedly, while staring ahead. He doesn't understand what's wrong with him. He's never had this much trouble learning a dance. Usually he's the first to get it right. And because he always has so much energy, he can handle sped up moves perfectly. But all day he is feeling utterly exhausted, making him react slower to everything.

He yawns again and feels how heavy his eyelids are starting to feel. His head starts to drop and he suddenly shoots awake when he feels himself almost falling over. He tries to keep his eyes wide open and rubs them to try and stay awake.

He feels frustrated and guilty as well, because dance rehearsal could have been done hours ago if he wasn't so tired and kept messing up. And now Mr. X has walked away from them. He didn't want to leave his friends behind like that, but he just couldn't handle it for a moment.

People walking by look at him funny. He just ignores them. He knows how it must look. A boy wearing a helmet in sweat pants and a tank top, sweat covering his body, rubbing his eyes tiredly in the middle of the grass.

He just sits and stares ahead, yawning every once in a while. Just then, a shadow looms over him. He looks up, not surprised to find all three of his friends worriedly staring at him. He sighs and looks down again. They immediately join him. Kendall and Logan sit on his sides, while James takes a spot in front of him.

"So uh, you ready to talk about it?" Kendall asks him. He looks up and shakes his head. "Ok." They sit in silence for a while.

"Are you ready now?" Kendall asks again. Carlos looks up with a frown and shakes his head again. Kendall waits a few seconds. "How about now?" Carlos snickers lightly and Kendall smiles. "Ah, there's that famous smile." He says, pointing a finger towards it. Carlos can't keep his smile away, but looks down again.

"You're so lame." Carlos mumbles, making James and Logan laugh.

"Maybe. But it worked, didn't it?" Kendall mentions with a shrug, pushing his shoulder against Carlos'.

"Today just sucks..." Carlos complains, before letting his upper body fall down onto the grass. Kendall and Logan quickly join him, while James moves behind them, so al their heads are almost touching and they lie in a circle. It's something they did often when they were children, just watching the clouds passing by.

"You did your best, Carlos. Tomorrow things will be better, you'll see." James tells him. Carlos smiles.

"Yeah, I guess." He says in response. "I just feel bad that I caused us to be in rehearsal for five hours." He says, sadly.

"Trust me, if this hadn't happened, we'd still be dancing right away. Just look at it this way, because of what happened, we get to go home early." Logan explains logically with a smile. Carlos chuckles.

"So I guess it's a good thing I'm such a screw-up then, huh?" He jokes back.

"Totally." Logan tells him. It takes a moment, before all four of the guys burst out laughing.

They laugh for a good ten minutes, when all four are holding their stomachs in pain and the laughter dies down.

"Oh my god... I so needed that." Carlos says as he wipes off tears from his face, sniffling a little and still laughing a little. "Thanks, guys..." He tells them and they smile. They lie there in silence, just watching the clouds peacefully floating by.

"Hey, look! It's Gustavo!" James blurts out as he points towards a cloud. Logan twists his head.

"He looks grumpy." He mumbles. Kendall suddenly starts to giggle.

"The one next to it. It looks like Griffin, dressed like a fairy." He says as he laughs again. The other two try to find it, but just shake their heads at how insane the blond giggles.

"Carlos, it's your turn. What do you see in the clouds?" James asks. They wait, but receive no response.

Logan turns his head and looks Carlos' way. "Carlitos?" He asks, poking him in the side playfully. He sits up when he still doesn't a response and looks atthe Latino. He chuckles.

"What?" James asks him as he slightly sits up as well.

"He fell asleep again." Logan answers. The other two both sit up fully now and look at their younger friend with a frown.

"Hasn't he had enough sleep today?" James asks questioningly towards Logan.

"I don't know. I guess not." He answers. They look at him for another moment, smiling at how peaceful the boy looks again.

"He always seems so much younger when he's asleep." Logan ponders.

"It's why he'll always remain the baby of the group." Kendall mentions.

"Too bad he wakes up again." James says, before wincing as he receives a punch in both his shoulders from the other two.

"Come on, lets just take sleeping beauty home. I think his bed will be a lot more comfortable than the grass." Kendall tells his friends.

"Why not just leave him here. Dogs always find their way home, I'm sure he will, too." James suddenly jokes. In an instant, Logan grabs his lucky comb out of his pocket. James' eyes grow wide and reaches out for it. Logan pulls it back.

"Nope. You're not having this back for the rest of the day for being an ass." He warns him.

"Oh come on, we always joke with each other like this." James argues, while Kendall rolls his eyes and stands up.

"Yeah, but not when we're already having a bad day. So leave Carlos alone for the rest of the day and you can have your comb back. If not, I'll just break it." Logan warns. James gasps.

"No, no, I'll stop. I'll shut up." James says, keeping an eye on his precious comb. Kendall shakes his head and just starts to lift Carlos off of the ground bridal style. He heads for the car and the others follow quickly.

Needless to say, Kendall's mom and younger sister are kind of shocked to see the guys coming home happily, while James holds a slumbering Carlos in his arms.

He is put to bed immediately. And not even the corndogs on the menu that night can pull him out. Carlos has fallen into a deep sleep. His friends worry a little, but all that bouncing around had to take its toll sometime. At least they could enjoy a full night of peace and quiet for once. Which is why everyone went to bed early. Because peace and quiet in this family is just plain boring...

**A/N Ok, so I wasn't planning on writing another story. But I received a special request from Meanxruki for a story of Carlos getting sick and I thought, why not? There just aren't enough Carlos angst/whump stories around here. And especially him getting sick. So here is my take on it. I'm not sure how long it will be, but I hope you enjoy it :)**

**So, exhaustion is the first sign. He just seems tired. How bad can it be? Just wait for it ;)**

**Thank you again to Meanxruki for the idea, I hope this is what you had in mind :)**

**Love, Baxxie**


	2. Chapter 2 The list keeps growing

Chapter 2 The list keeps growing...

The next morning when the alarm clock sounds again, Logan quickly shuts it off. Kendall groans in the other bed, but when Logan approaches him, he holds up his hands in defense.

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up." He says, making Logan snicker.

The brunette gets ready for the other bedroom to check on Carlos, but nearly bumps into him in the hallway. He frowns.

"Morning, Logie." He cheeringly greets as he bounces around and sets the breakfast table, already fully dressed.

"Morning…" Logan says, a little shocked as he looks around.

"Something wrong?" Carlos asks him.

"No, no. Uh, so you seem more energetic." Logan cautiously mentions.

"Yeah. I guess I just needed some extra sleep." Carlos answers in response. Logan looks at him suspiciously.

"So you feel completely fine now?" He asks, closely observing all of his friend's movements. Carlos squirms a little at the attention.

"Yes. Quit looking at me like that, Logan. You're giving me the creeps." He says with a small grin. "You want pancakes?" He offers, while grabbing a pan from the cabinets.

Logan raises an eyebrow and looks around again. "You're offering to make pancakes?" He asks in shock.

"Uh, yeah…" Carlos answers, looking a little worried. "Are you okay, Logan? You're not getting sick, are you?"

"No, but you never cook." Logan says, eyeing Carlos wearily.

Carlos chuckles. "Ok, you got me. I just grabbed the pan and was hoping Kendall could make us some." Logan smiles in relief.

"Phew. For a minute there I thought I was having a nightmare." Logan jokes, making Carlos stick out his tongue.

When Kendall finally emerges from the bedroom, he walks straight for the bathroom.

"Don't bother. James already took it." Carlos informs him. Without hesitation, Kendall changes his direction for the kitchen instead. Carlos goes to stand in front of him with the frying pan and puts on the biggest puppy dog eyes he can, complete with jutted out bottom lip.

"What?" Kendall asks with a sigh.

"Make us some pancakes?" Carlos asks hopefully. Kendall rolls his eyes exaggeratingly.

"Ugh, fine." He grabs the frying pan, while Carlos squeals with joy. The Latino bounces towards the table and sits down, eagerly waiting for the food.

Kendall shakes his head, but starts to gather the ingredients. Logan silently comes to stand next to him.

"So uh, don't you think it's a little odd how he's suddenly full of energy again?" He quietly asks the blond.

"I guess." He says with a shrug. "But it's a good sign, right? It just means he really did just need some extra sleep. You know Carlos. He doesn't get sick." He adds.

"Yeah, maybe." Logan says, looking slightly suspicious still.

"What?" His friend asks him.

"I'm sure it's nothing. But what happened yesterday… I don't know. It just didn't seem…" Their conversation is suddenly interrupted with a loud sneeze. They turn around with raised eyebrows, while Carlos looks at them with wide eyes.

"Sorry about that." he says with a slight chuckle.

"Bless you." The guys shrug and turn back towards the counter. Logan opens his mouth again when another sneeze sounds. They turn around again, where Carlos greets them with a sheepish smile.

"Bless.." They go to say when he sneezes again.

"Are you.." Kendall starts to say, but stops when Carlos holds up his hand and sneezes again and another time after that. Kendall exhanges a look with Logan.

"He's just sneezing. It could be pepper or an allergic reaction of some sort." Carlos sneezes two more times, before it finally seems to be over. The guys eye him for a moment, before Logan hands him a tissue.

"Thanks…" Carlos tells him as he blows his nose loudly, blinking furiously and sniffling.

"Doing better?" Logan asks him with raised eyebrows. Carlos sends him a smile and a nod, but he seems a little shocked himself. "Maybe you're allergic to something in the room."

"I'm not allergic to anything." Carlos says with a shake of his head and sniffling again.

"Well, some allergies take some time to surface." Logan explains, but Carlos shakes his head.

"I'm not allergic. I'm fine now." He tells the brunette. "Really, Logan, I'm fine." Logan nods and walks back to Kendall.

"He doesn't get sick, huh?" He asks him.

"It's just a few sneezes, Logan. Calm down, would ya?" Kendall says with a snicker.

Carlos doesn't sneeze anymore during breakfast. He just laughs with them and gulps down his breakfast like he does every morning. The guys are surprised, but happy to see him back to his energizer bunny self.

They head for the studio, where Carlos happily shows Mr. X the right moves this time. The guys are proud of him and Mr. X is satisfied. He goes to teach them a new dance, but Gustavo suddenly barges in and demands them to come in for vocal practice.

The guys groan, but it is necessary for their upcoming concert, so they follow him into the band room and stand next to the piano. The first hour goes by fine, but then Logan notices how Carlos starts to miss the higher notes. They are practicing No Idea, when Carlos sings his verse. It sounds amazing, up until the moment where he has to really go for it. His voice completely gives out and he coughs loudly.

Gustavo frustratingly presses the piano keys, making the guys cringe. He turns to them.

"Okay, what was that?" He yells as Carlos stops coughing.

"Sorry…" he mutters, his voice slightly croaking. He clears it and puts a hand around his neck, slightly rubbing it. James hands him a bottle of water and he gratefully takes a few sips. Gustavo grumbles impatiently and then turns back to the piano.

"From the top!" He orders and starts the song again. Logan keeps a weary eye on his friend, who looks slightly upset and still rubs his throat subconsciously.

They start to sing again and everything sounds fine. When Carlos' verse comes up, he opens his mouth to sing, but his voice sounds completely hoarse. He tries to clear it and keeps going, but it just sounds worse and leads to a small coughing fit. Gustavo stops playing again and turns around. His face is completely red as he stands up in front of Carlos.

"What was that?" He yells, making Carlos wince. "We've only been singing for an hour. ONE HOUR! How are you going to last a full concert if you can't make it through one hour of practice?"

"I-I'm sorry…" Carlos croaks, wincing at the soreness of his throat.

"Let's just go to Nothing Even Matters." Gustavo announces. Carlos nods and hangs in head in disappointment as the producer starts the familiar tunes. The guys start to sing, but keep a concerned eye on their young friend.

Carlos feels horrible. He keeps messing up. Yesterday he was too tired to keep up with dance practice, today he can't sing because his voice gave out. He doesn't understand what's going on. He rubs his neck once more, willing the slight soreness to go away. He sings quietly, but even he can hear how terrible his voice sounds right now.

Gustavo keeps them singing for three hours more without breaks. Thankfully, he doesn't have to sing any solos. But the way his friends keep looking at him, proves just how bad he must sound. His throat is scratchy and hurts even more now. He tries to drink a little, but even swallowing is starting to hurt. He sends a smile towards his friends once in a while, to let them know he's okay. But in all honesty, he's not. He's disappointed in himself. He has never screwed up this much. He is letting everyone down.

On top of it all, he is starting to feel tired again. Plus, all that standing around is slowly making him dizzy. But he can't show it. He is already hurting them with his stupid voice, sounding totally off key. He needs to stay strong and stay calm.

He lightly bounces on his feet impatiently. His eyes keep darting towards the door. He just needs a break. A little bit of fresh air, some water, a couch, anything… He stops a yawn from breaking through and then blinks his eyes quickly when he sees spots for a moment.

"Alright, take a break…" Gustavo grumbles. The minute he says it, Carlos looks up and rushes out as fast as he can.

The other guys see him run. They exchange frowns, but then smirk and shake their heads.

Carlos hurries off towards the breakroom and grabs a water bottle. He unscrews it and downs it as fast as he can.

"Woah, slow down, dude. You're going to cause a coughing fit if you drink too fast." James tells him, right before he starts to cough again. The tall brunette chuckles and pats him on the back until it subsides. Carlos gives him a grateful smile, trying not to show the fatigue that is starting to set in.

Kendall plops down on the couch with a sigh of content. Carlos grins and joins him and immediately feels the dizzyness ebbing away. The blond grins back at him.

"You feel better now?" He asks his younger friend.

Carlos nods. "'M fine." He goes to say, but it comes out as a loud squeak. Kendall bursts out laughing, while Carlos clears his throat and embarrassingly smiles. "I'm fine." He repeats in a much more normal sounding voice.

He smiles with relief and lies his head down on the back of the couch. He doesn't even realize what a bad idea that was, until his eyes fall shut.

There are three things he notices when he wakes up. One, he is now fully lying on the couch. Two, a blanket is covering him and three; he's completely alone. He slowly tries to sit up. But the moment he moves his head up, a wave of dizzyness washes over him. And his head feels so much heavier now. In fact, his whole body feels like it weighs tons suddenly. He uses all his strength to sit up anyway and holds still for a moment, until the room stops spinning.

Why would the guys just let him sleep like that? Surely they didn't continue practice without him. So yeah, his voice kept breaking up, but it doesn't mean he can't sing at all.

He feels slightly angry and stands up. He almost falls back down, but just shakes it off and stalks towards the studio. He pulls the door open and his singing friends immediately close their mouths and look at him with wide eyes.

"What is going on here? Why didn't you wake me?" he asks, slightly coughing as his voice gets scratchy again.

"Carlos…" Logan starts, but the boy walks forward angrily.

"No. I want to know why you let me sleep like that? I'm in this concert, too." He argues, sounding slightly hurt.

"Yes, which is why you need to save your voice." Gustavo suddenly mentions calmly. Carlos opens his mouth again, but then realizes what the man said and turns to him. "I told them to let you sleep, so your voice can be better for the show." Kelly nudges him. He sighs. "And I'm sorry for the way I yelled at you." He reluctantly mutters.

Carlos turns back to his friends, who shrug with a smile. Not really understanding where this caring side suddenly came from. "Uh, thank you?" He says hesitatingly.

"Just go and hang out wherever. I don't care. Just don't talk and don't stay in here, you'll just distract the other dogs." Gustavo grumbles and turns back to the piano. Carlos smiles and heads for the door. He looks back once and mouthes a 'thank you' to Kelly, who sends him a bewilderd look.

He happily starts to walk through the building. He feels sort of bad for the other guys, but on the other hand, he was just given a free access pass to Rocque Records. He grins mischievously and explores every room he can find. It's fun for the first half hour, but then he notices how tired he is becoming. He shakes it off and walks again, but then has to grab hold of a railing on the wall when another dizzy spell hits him. He waits for it to pass, before walking again.

But the more he walks, the worse he feels. He can feel the building becoming hotter by the second. Sweat is starting to drip down his face, but he can't give in. He's fine. He doesn't get sick. He's just fine.

So he keeps on walking, albeit slower and slower. He notices how people are throwing him strange looks and whisper around him. But he doesn't care. He's okay. He can do it. Not that he has any clue as to what he is trying to do, but he can do it.

It's getting harder and harder to move around though and when he nearly falls down again, he decides to give up. He slowly starts to head back to the break room, so he can wait for the guys to finish so he can go home. But when he almost reaches it, he gets a strange feeling in his stomach. He trudges towards the couch, but then feels something come up. He puts a hand to his mouth and rushes for the bathroom. He gets there just in time to give up everything he ate that morning.

When he is finally done, he shakily gets to his feet and walks towards the bathroom sink. He lifts his heavy head towards the mirror and is shocked at what he sees. His body tone has always been a mocca color. It's never been beige before, or a little grey even. He can't fully open his eyes, but can see the sweat droplets traveling down his cheeks. He quickly opens the faucet and throws water in his face.

He looks in the mirror again and surprisingly finds the color returning to his features. He has to admit, throwing up has made him feel a whole lot better. He grabs some paper towels and wipes his face with it.

He still feels tired, but at least it's better than before. He slowly moves towards the door and heads out. He looks around for any signs if anyone heard or saw him and then hurries for the break room again. He is relieved to see his friend's aren't back yet and lets himself fall onto the couch. He lets his head rest on the back of the couch for the second time that day and ponders about what is going on.

Why does he feel so tired? And why did he throw up? Did he eat something bad? Maybe it was the same thing that made him sneeze this morning. And then it affected his throat. But he's not allergic to anything. Is he? Logan did say allergies could take time to surface. That had to be it. It was just allergies.

Carlos smiles to himself for having figured that out.

"Hey, what are you so happy about?" Kendall suddenly asks as he appears next to him.

"Nothing. I'm just happy." Carlos tells him. Kendall raises his left eyebrow.

"Okay…" He mentions, before standing up again. "Come on. Gustavo told us we could go home, since there's no point in rehearsing more without you." Carlos grins.

"Don't get too cocky, it was just difficult to cover all your parts." James adds, only making Carlos grin wider. "Ugh, never mind…" The pretty boy grumbles, before they all walk out of the studio again.

"How's your voice?" Logan asks Carlos as they sit in the back of the car.

"Okay, I guess." Carlos answers, relieved that his voice really does sound less scratchy.

Logan smiles at him. "You still tired?" He asks the Latino. But he just shrugs.

"Nah. I'm good." He finishes with a yawn. Logan smirks.

"Yeah, you're wide awake." He watches as the curves of Carlos' mouth turn into a small grin. "Just go to sleep, 'Litos. I'll wake you up when we're home."

Carlos tries to fight it with everything he has, but he soon can't stop his eyelids from closing. Logan just smiles and sighs at his sleeping friend.

"Sleep tight, buddy." He softly says and doesn't even flinch when the boy's head suddenly lands on his shoulder. He just chuckles and lets him rest.

Logan has always been observant, especially when one of his brothers is sick. He can't help it. He was always meant to become a doctor. It's in his blood. So he also can't help but keep an eye on Carlos, the baby of the group, when he's suddenly a lot more tired than he should be. He has all of it written down in his head, the symptoms. Tiredness, sneezing, coughing… What could it be?

It all seems so strange. Every time a symptom pops it, it just disappears again. Logan sighs and lies his head on top of the ravenhaired one. He frowns. And adds a slight fever to the list…

**A/N Sorry the chapter is shorter than the first one. But thank you so much for all the responses so far :) I love reading them all and will try to reply to all of them asap!**

**Let me know what you think of the second chapter and if you want, come and talk to me via PM or via Tumblr. Just look me up with the name Baxxie ;)**

**Anyway, thank you so much again! I'll try to update this and my other stories soon. I am so anxious to start another angsty one with whump for all of the guys, but I am trying to finish at least one of my others before I do. Trying so hard… :P**

**Love, Baxxie**


	3. Chapter 3 Not loving fishstick Friday

Chapter 3 Not loving Fish-stick Friday...

When the guys arrive home, Carlos wakes up by himself. He is surprised to find himself leaning on Logan's shoulder and quickly sits up. He feels completely drained, but tries not to let it show. Logan smiles at him.

"Feeling a little better?" He asks the boy, who frowns a little in return.

"Uh, I've felt fine all day, but okay." He says, with a small smile. Logan smiles back, but watches him with concerned eyes.

They head up to the apartment, where the smell of fish sticks already awaits them. They sniff up the air happily, mouths watering at the thought. But the second Carlos catches a whiff of the usually so enticing smell, he can feel his stomach turning. Not wanting to worry his friends, he just goes along with their cheering and races inside the apartment. He sits at the table right away and acts eager, like he always does when food is served. But he wonders whether his face has turned pale or green yet.

Mrs. Knight smiles at him and quickly puts a pile of fish sticks on his plate. His stomach is giving of warning signals, but he can't get sick. He's fine. He never gets sick. So instead of listening to his body, he dives right in and puts a piece of fish stick in his mouth. He sends a huge smile towards Mrs. Knight, who just shakes her head in amusement.

But it's hard to keep up that smile when he swallows the piece of food. He can feel how his body really doesn't agree with his decision to eat anyway. He ignores it though and continues to eat. Sweat is starting to form on his brow as he tries to keep his stomach under control. His hands are slowly starting to shake.

"Dude, are you okay?" James suddenly asks him, making everyone turn their attention to him. He looks up in surprise and tries to send them a smile. But their worried faces tell him he probably has lost color.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He tells them, waving it off.

"Are you sure? Because you're looking a little green, buddy." Kendall tells him. He slowly continues to eat, but it is getting harder and harder to keep it in.

"Yeah, I'm uh..." He trails off when he can't take it anymore. "Would you excuse me for a minute? I just have to get something real quick." He mutters as he practically runs off to the bedroom and then as nobody notices into their adjoined bathroom.

The small family exchanges worried glances at his odd behaviour, but they slowly continue to eat and talk. Logan however doesn't trust the situation and slowly gets up as well.

The others don't seem to notice as he walks into the bedroom. He frowns when he doesn't see his friend.

"Carlos?" He calls out, when he hears sounds coming from the bathroom. He heads for the door and knocks. "Carlos, is everything okay?" He asks. But he is met by silence. He makes a quick decision and tries the door handle, which opens right away. "Carlos?" He softly asks as he enters.

His eyes widen when he sees his friend hunched over the toilet bowl, just as he starts to throw up once more. He rushes forward and grabs a washcloth. He makes it slightly wet and then kneels down next to the young Latino.

"Oh, buddy..." He softly murmurs and rubs his back until the boy finishes. He leans over and flushes the toilet, before handing him a towel and wetting his face with the washcloth.

"'M sorry..." Carlos mutters. He closes his eyes when Logan softly presses the washcloth in his neck.

"Why didn't you tell us you were sick?" Logan asks him. He looks down.

"I'm not sick. I think I just ate something bad..." Carlos tells him. Logan sighs at his stubbornness.

"Buddy..." he starts.

"Really, I'm fine... I feel a lot better now." The raven-haired boy softly says, trying to show him a smile. Logan doesn't look convinced, but decides not to push him. As Carlos tries to get up, he stumbles slightly. Logan catches his arm right away.

"Come on, lets get you to bed." Carlos whines, but a stern look from Logan has him sigh and rolling his eyes. He reluctantly lets his friend lead him into the bedroom and to his bed.

Carlos lies down as Logan grabs a bucket and puts it beside the bed. The brunette then pulls the blankets over him and sits down. Carlos looks at him with a smirk.

"Uh, Logan, you don't have to stay with me. I can lie here by myself. I just need some sleep." He informs his friend. Logan nods and gets up.

"Okay, well, do you want me to tell the others?" He asks his friend. The boy shakes his head right away.

"No, no need to worry them. Just let them eat." He tells his slightly taller friend.

Logan still looks weary to leave. "Go on, Logie. I'm fine. It's just something I ate, I promise. I don't get sick, remember?" He says with a small smile. The brunette doesn't return the smile. "Go eat, Logan. If I start to feel bad again, I'll call you. Okay?" He offers.

Logan sighs, but gets up. "I'm holding you to that, Carlos. If you feel any worse, just let me know. I mean it, Carlos, if you need anything, just say so." he insists and Carlos rolls his eyes. He motions for Logan to leave.

He looks over his shoulder one more time, before finally heading back into the living area. The others look at him questioningly.

"Carlos got sick." He immediately says. The others frown.

"Why didn't he say something?" Kendall asks, sounding a little angry.

"He didn't want anyone to know, because he doesn't want us to worry." Logan explains. Mrs. Knight gets up immediately, looking worried. "It's okay Mrs. Knight, I made sure he went to bed straight away." She wearily sits down again, but keeps looking over towards the bedroom.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Katie asks as they slowly start to eat again.

"He says it's something he ate." Mrs. Knight's eyes widen right away. "But I think he's coming down with something. He's been having some weird symptoms for a few days now." He informs them.

"But Carlos never gets sick." James mentions, while the others nod.

"I know, but with the sneezing and the coughing this morning and the fact that he had a slight fever when he fell asleep again in the car... I think this might be the first time." Mrs. Knight looks a little angry and concerned after hearing all these symptoms no one told her. "That combined with him falling asleep everywhere is enough to assume that he is getting sick. Although I'm not sure what's wrong with him yet. The symptoms don't fully add up. It could be a common cold or the flu, but most of his symptoms continue to disappear after a while." Logan keeps explaining and analyzing what is wrong with his friend, while the others have stopped listening and continue to eat.

"Logan." James calls out, making him snap out of his ranting. "Are you going to finish that?" Logan looks down and sees a small pile of fish sticks still on his plate, while Kendall and James eagerly stare at it. He rolls his eyes.

"Katie, would you like some?" He then asks, ignoring the gasps coming from his friends.

"Hell yeah!" She yells out, ignoring the stern look her mother throws her. Logan hands her his plate and tries not to snicker at the glares his friends send him as she digs in.

After dinner, the guys head for James and Carlos' bedroom to check on their friend. He's completely covered with the blankets, looking peaceful. Logan furrows his brow at the boy's flushed cheeks. He walks over and puts a hand on his forehead. He frowns.

"What is it? Does he still have a fever?" Kendall asks him as he and James watch from the doorway.

"He does feel a little warm." Logan tells them. He turns back to the Latino when he shifts a little. he sleepily opens his eyes and watches the smart boy through half lidded eyes. Logan smiles at him. "Hey, bud. How are you feeling?" He softly asks him.

Carlos glares a little and even crosses his arms underneath the covers. "I am not talking to you." He states and Logan frowns when he looks away.

"What? Why?"

"I asked you not to tell the others I got sick and you did anyway." He explains. Logan sighs.

"You know you shouldn't eavesdrop." Logan tells him with a small smirk.

"I wasn't eavesdropping. I was just lying here and managed to overhear." He stubbornly argues, making Logan chuckle.

"It's the same thing, dude." James suddenly pipes in, making Carlos look up. He sticks out his tongue and the guys laugh.

"But in all seriousness, you feel better?" Kendall asks him when the laughter dies down.

Carlos nods. "Yeah, just a little tired. I guess I ate something bad, you know." He says with a shrug, before yawning loudly. The guys chuckle.

"Go back to sleep, 'Litos." Logan tells him, before ruffling his hair. Carlos pushes him off and mock glares at him.

"Still not talking to you!" He calls out at Logan retreating back. Logan grins.

"Love you too, buddy!" He calls back, before the guys leave the room.

"Shouldn't you check his temperature?" Kendall asks Logan outside.

"And have him beat me up? No, thanks. I'll just wait until he's had his nap to calm down." Logan responds with a chuckle.

"I heard that!" Carlos yells from the bedroom, making the guys crack up.

"Go to sleep, Carlitos!" Kendall yells back. The only response is a grumble from Carlos. The guys shake their heads and walk off with amusement on their faces.

In the evening, the guys watch TV together, enjoying themselves until loud coughing is heard from the bedroom. Logan is the first to hear it. He turns his head, but then it stops. He continues to watch TV again, when the sound is heard a second time.

"Does anyone else hear that?" he asks, the others hardly pay attention. "Guys, turn down the volume a little." He asks. Kendall and James exchange glances, but turn the volume down.

"What, Logan? I don't hear any.." James complains, when the coughing starts up again. "Is that Carlos?" He suddenly asks, making Logan roll his eyes. He gets up, the other two quickly following.

As Logan walks in, he flickers on the light and his eyes widen at the sight of his friend practically coughing up a lung. His face has turned completely red and his body shakes with each cough.

"Woah, come on, sit up a little." Logan tells him as he hurries to his friend's side and helps him sit up. He rubs his back soothingly. "James, could you get a glass of water?" James rushes off right away.

Kendall sits down on Carlos' other side, while the boy's body wracks with every cough. Logan exchanges a glance with Kendall when their smaller friend seems to have trouble breathing after his coughing ceases.

"Alright, it's okay, just take deep breaths." Logan says encouragingly, when James comes back in. He sits on his knees in front of the bed and hands Kendall the water.

"Here, drink a little." He softly says as he holds the glass to Carlos' lips. His breathing is ragged, but slowing down as Logan helps him. He carefully takes a sip of water and closes his eyes.

The guys wait for his breathing to go back to normal and watch him with concern until he opens his eyes.

"Thanks, guys..." He softly croaks.

"You okay now?" Kendall asks him while rubbing his back.

"Yeah, I'm good." He nearly whispers with a nod.

"You scared us, dude. That was some coughing fit." James mentions with a smile, but his eyes show he is worried.

"I think I swallowed something wrong." Carlos sheepishly says. The guys look at each other, before bursting into laughter. "It's not funny, I have a really bad taste in my mouth now." He tells them as he looks disgusted. The guys just start to laugh louder, while Carlos pouts a little. But a smirk makes it way to the corners of his mouth as well.

After a few minutes the guys are still laughing, while Carlos watches them with crossed arms.

"Are you done making fun of me?" He asks them with a playful smile.

The laughter dies down and Kendall slaps him on the back.

"Dude, only you..." He says while chuckling and shaking his head.

"But in all seriousness, you did scare us. I mean, you were coughing so badly I thought you were choking or something." Logan tells him.

"Must have been some huge bug you swallowed." James adds. Carlos' eyes widen in fear and his hands go to his stomach. The guys crack up immediately.

"That's not funny, man!" He calls out, before rolling his eyes and grabbing his pillow. He whacks his laughing friends with it, but they keep on going. "You guys are horrible." He tells them with a pout.

"Don't worry, buddy. If it's really big, I'm sure it'll manage to crawl back out." Kendall suddenly offers. Carlos widens his eyes and puts his hands over his mouth in shock. He shoots off the bed and makes a beeline for the bathroom. The guys are howling with laughter, but Logan punches Kendall's shoulder anyway. "What?" He asks.

Logan just shakes his head and walks to the bathroom as well, still laughing and wiping tears from his eyes. He knocks on the closed door.

"Carlos? Are you okay? Kendall was just joking. If you did swallow a bug, it's not going to crawl back up. Carlos?" When the boy doesn't respond, he opens the door. His laughter stops right away when he sees a very pale Carlos holding the sink tightly with his eyes squeezed shut. "Kendall!" he yells and both laughing teens walk into the bathroom. Their laughter dies down as well when they see their friend.

"Jesus... " James exclaims.

"Uh, he knows I was kidding, right?" Kendall asks quietly.

"Carlos?" Logan asks as he approaches his friend. As he steps closer, he sees how the boy is trembling all over and is trying to keep his breathing under control. He puts his hands over his arms. "Come on, why don't we get you back to bed."

"N-no, I'm f-fine..." Carlos mutters quietly. Bu the moment he lets go of the sink, his knees buckle and Logan has a hard time holding onto him. Carlos' eyes are wide open and Kendall rushes over and grabs his left side. Logan and Kendall each lift one of his arms over their necks and they help him back into the bedroom.

"Come on, lie down." Logan softly tells him as the two friends help the very pale boy into bed. He is still shaking like a leaf and has gone white as a sheet. James stands on the side, watching worriedly. Logan sits on the bed and holds the glass of water to the deathly pale boy's lips. "Take a small sip, it might help." Carlos slowly sips the water and lies in his bed with his eyes closed. Logan coaxes him through breathing, while Kendall has gone to stand by James.

As James stands there in shock, Kendall suddenly rubs his back. James flinches at the sudden touch, but then tries to calm down.

"I've never seen him sick before. Or this pale, you know?" He asks. The blonde nods.

They watch in silence as the color slowly comes back to his face. He opens his eyes and tries to sit up, but Logan pushes him back down.

"Just lie still for a moment, you don't want to get dizzy again, do you?" He warns the boy.

"What was that, dude?" Kendall finally asks after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, you uh, you scared us, buddy." James joins in as he finds his voice again. "I've never seen you so pale before."

"Well, I'm fine now, so you don't need to worry anymore." Carlos simply tells them. James and Kendall share a look.

"Uh, Carlos, you almost fainted a minute ago. Even your lips were completely pale. You are not fine." Logan tells him with a stern look. Carlos rolls his eyes. "Hey, I'm serious." Logan tells him. He looks down. "You're sick, Carlos. Just be lucky Mrs. Knight didn't see you."

"Like you're any better..." Carlos mutters under his breath. Kendall and James snicker, but stop when Logan shoots them a glare.

"Look, I know you're not used tot his, because you've never been sick before. It's not fun and you know what, it's not supposed to be. It sucks, because you're body is trying to get rid of bad germs, which makes you feel bad." Carlos looks at him with a glare.

"You're forgetting something here, Logan." He starts.

"And what's that?" Logan asks him in a challenging way.

"I don't get sick." Carlos tells him.

Logan sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Wow..." Logan states after some silence. "Yeah, okay... you don't get sick. Stupid me, I completely forgot about that." He says, slapping his own forehead. Carlos smiles triumphantly. "'Cause you're a superhero, you're Carlos, the invincible!" Logan shouts out and Carlos' smile falls. "But wait... you're not." Logan then tells him. "You're sick, Carlos. Just suck it up and go to sleep."

With that Logan stands up, while Carlos sighs exaggeratingly and rolls his eyes. James and Kendall chuckle.

"Hey, at least now you know what it feels like, dude." James tells him.

"Yeah, you've always made fun of us for getting sick. Now it's our turn." Kendall tells him, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously with an accompanying smirk.

They quickly head out the door, laughing as a pillow is flung at them.

**A/N I know, I know, it sounds weird how all his symptoms come and go, get worse and then go again. But remember; he has never been sick before, so his body doesn't know how to fight it.**

**Anyway, thank you all for the support You guys make me smile, even on a bad day, I just want you to know that!**

**Love all of you and I will try to update sooner next time. But I am really tired right now, so heading to bed. Let me know what you think of the chapter and if you have any one requests for this or any of my other stories, just let me know **

**Love, Baxxie**


	4. Chapter 4 A Cold?

Chapter 4 A Cold?

Carlos tosses and turns in his bed, long after everyone else has fallen asleep. The temperature keeps changing and his head is starting to hurt. He wants to sleep so badly, but opens his eyes with a sigh. He slowly sits up and tries not to groan out loud at his pounding head. He holds it in his hands for a moment and throws off the covers.

The moment he does, he puts his arms around his body, feeling it shiver all over at the sudden cold. He grabs his sheets and wraps them around himself as he slowly stands up and shuffles to the kitchen.

He makes a movement towards the light switch, but then remembers the light will probably wake up the rest of the apartment. He shuffles on in the dark, trying to not to bump into anything as he grabs a glass of water and searches for some Tylenol. He moves his hands through the cabinets, feeling for the small rectangular box.

He sighs when he still can't find it and turns around.

"Watcha looking for?" A female voice suddenly whispers right in front of him, making him jump and hit his head on a still opened cabinet door with a thud. He winces, as does the other person. "Sorry…" Katie whispers as he tries to see her in the dark.

"What are you doing up?" Carlos whispers to her as he rubs the sore spot on his head. He closes his eyes when it starts to pound even worse.

"I was up playing Castle Smashers 2, but I got thirsty." She tells him with a shrug. "Why are you up?"

"Headache…" He tells her with a sigh.

"Oh." She responds. "Sorry…" She mentions again.

"'S okay… Do you know where your mom hid the Tylenol?" He asks her as he starts to go through the cabinets again.

"Not sure, I think one of the top shelves." She informs him. Great… He sighs.

"Alright, help me grab a chair." He says as he feels his way around the kitchen counter.

"Uh, are you sure that's such a good idea? Maybe we should just turn on the light." She offers.

"No, I don't want to wake anyone up." He explains.

"Well, then help me get up here. If you stand on a chair, there's a good chance an even worse headache will be the result." He sends her a glare, even though he's fully aware she can't see it.

He helps her on the counter and makes sure to stand behind her in case she falls.

"Found it!" She whispers after a while. He grabs her around the waist and helps her down. He quickly grabs the box from her and downs a pill with some water. She stands near him in the dark, slightly concerned at how content he sounds as he gulps down the water.

"Carlos?" She whispers to him a little quieter.

"Hm?"

"Are you getting sick?" She asks him, sounding worried and a little childlike. He frowns at her tone of voice.

"No, why would you think that?" He asks her, chuckling a little.

"Well, you've been sleeping a lot and you got sick last night and now you're up in the middle of the night with sheets wrapped around your shoulders, looking for Tylenol." She tells him.

"I just ate something bad last night and Gustavo is making us work really hard lately, so of course I'm tired." He tries to explain. She doesn't respond. "I'm fine, Katie. You don't need to worry about me." He tells her. "Just go to bed and I will too and you'll see, everything will be fine tomorrow." He says as he grabs her shoulders in the dark and shoves her towards the stairs. She lingers for another moment, but then hugs his waist to his surprise.

He smiles and hugs her back slightly.

"You better be fine tomorrow." She warns him slightly.

"I will be, don't worry. Goodnight, Katie." He lovingly tells her, kissing the top of her head.

"Night, Carlitos." She returns and lets go of him. They both shuffle back to their bedrooms, where everyone is still sleeping soundly. As Carlos lies in bed, he can feel the Tylenol kicking in as his headache ebbs away and he finally falls into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Carlos awakes to the sounds of his family walking around and getting up. He tries to open his eyes, but finds it a lot more difficult than usual. He tries to blink, but nearly falls asleep again. Maybe that Tylenol wasn't a good idea after all.

His body feels like it weighs a ton and he can hardly move. He notices his breathing is also a little faster than usual. He tries to open his eyes again and attempts to lift his head. But the moment he does, the room spins and his head feels so heavy, it falls down like a sack of potatoes on the pillow again.

He groans when a pillow suddenly hits him in the head, but can't find the strength to remove it.

"Come on, Carlitos, get up! It is a beautiful day today and we have to be at the studio in one hour!" James tells him in a singsong voice.

Carlos grumbles in annoyance at his friend's sudden happiness.

"Leave him alone, James, he hardly slept last night!" Logan calls out in the distance, making Carlos frown. How would he know that?

Katie…

"Carlos?" Logan quietly asks as he pokes his head into the bedroom. Carlos sleepily blinks at him. "How does your head feel? Does it still hurt?" He asks. Carlos tries to shake his head, but can't quite manage.

"No…" He is surprised to hear his scratchy voice. He tries to clear it and swallows and winces when he feels the pain accompanying it. "I'm good." He says with a smile. Logan doesn't look convinced.

"Mrs. Knight said that maybe you should stay home today. You know, just to make sure you don't get sick again. I uh, I agree with her." The brunette mentions as he walks closer.

"I'm fine, Logan. And besides, we have a concert in three days. I'm sure Gustavo won't be happy if anyone of us misses practice for feeling a little tired." He mentions. Logan frowns.

"So you are still tired?" He asks. Carlos sighs at his own stupidity.

"I'm fine, Logan. Just go, alright? I'll be up and dressed in five minutes." He tells Logan with a challenging look. Logan stares at him for another moment and lets out a long sigh and nods, before leaving the room.

Carlos swallows hard and winces at the pain it causes again. Another symptom? At least his voice still sounds okay. He tries once again to lift his head, putting in all the strength he can to sit up. When he finally manages, he is slightly out of breath. He ignores it though, waving it off to go with his exhaustion.

He moves slow as he gets out of bed and dresses himself. By the time he is done, he doesn't feel anymore awake or energetic than when he woke up. But he needs to shake it off. The concert is so soon now and they can't afford to miss any more rehearsals. He knows they're already really well prepared, but he's nervous. This needs to go well. He's not sick or tired. As long as he keeps on believing that, he will be fine.

He puts on a smile and heads out into the living room, where everyone is waiting for him. Mrs. Knight shoots him a concerned and disappointed look.

"I still don't think this is a good idea." She says as she watches Carlos and his slightly flushed cheeks.

"I'm fine, mama Knight." He assures her and tries to get away from everyone's scrutinizing looks. He grabs some orange juice and tries desperately to hide a wince when the liquid makes his throat hurt even worse.

"We'll keep an eye on him, mom." Kendall says as he puts an arm around his smaller friend's shoulders. Carlos playfully pushes him away. The guys grab their bags and Carlos quickly follows.

"Wait, what about breakfast?" Mrs. Knight calls out when he follows them out the door. He turns around again.

"Oh, right. Nearly forgot about that." He says with a sheepish smile and grabs a piece of toast. He puts it in his mouth and grabs another piece to go. He mumbles something with a full mouth and waves goodbye, closing the door behind him.

The moment they are in the car he tries to eat the toast, but quickly finds he is really not hungry. He nibbles the toast slightly and stares out the window, while his friends talk animatedly. He doesn't notice how they occasionally glance at him with concerned faces. He also doesn't notice that they do it, because he's starting to sniffle a little now and then and rubbing his nose.

He doesn't notice up until he suddenly sneezes loudly, twice in a row and his nose is running. He looks surprised and tries to find a tissue, when suddenly, Logan hands him one. He takes it with a grateful smile and blows his nose, sniffling slightly when he's done.

At the studio, he pulls out all the energy he can, ignoring his friend's worried stares as much as he can. Mr. X is happy with him during their dance practice and Carlos feels exhilarated. Even the other guys seem less concerned now. He's proud of himself. Proud that he is able to dance so well today and proud that he's able to act like he's feeling perfectly fine.

He doesn't show how exhausted his body is feeling and how he is out of breath a lot faster than usual. Because he's can't give up. The concert is on his mind. He needs to do this. Mr. X was given clear instructions to pull out all the stops, because their concert will last almost 1,5 hours. They need to figure out where the guys are lacking. So even when they start to ask for breaks, Gustavo makes sure they can't.

Carlos keeps on giving it his all, not complaining once, everyone watching him in awe. His facial expression is hard, determined as he keeps up his speed with Mr. X, the other guys can't even keep up. That's when he notices his body starting to really warn him to stop. It feels very warm inside the studio suddenly and his limbs are feeling heavier by the second.

He is feeling more and more out of breath, but doesn't slow down. He knows that was a bad idea when he suddenly starts to see spots dancing in front of his eyes. But he just shakes his head. Everyone around him is trying to keep going, trying to keep up with his speed, they don't even notice how he is slowing down involuntarily.

When his vision goes completely black for a moment, he decides he can't keep going. He breathes heavily with wide eyes.

"M-Mr X…" He breathes out.

"Keep it up, come on, keep going!" Mr. X tells the guys.

"C-Can we p-please have a br-break?" He stutters, while wheezing slightly.

Mr. X frowns and walks over to him.

"Are you saying you're giving up?" He asks the Latino in his face.

Carlos tries to keep the dancing spots away as well as he can, while nodding fast.

"No. Keep going." Mr. X says as he turns his back to him and walks away. Carlos tries to keep going, but his vision is starting to swim and he is breathing faster.

"I-I can't…" He says. Mr. X turns around in disbelief and even the guys look at him in shock. "Please, can we have a break?" He asks again as he tries hard to keep his breathing under control.

"Do you think you can get a break when you're in the middle of a concert?" Mr. X asks. Carlos sighs in frustration.

"We're not in a concert right now, this is rehea-rehearsal…" He gets out, while still dancing. "And even dur-during a concert we won't be dancing… for four hours…" He mentions, getting slightly angry.

"Carlos is right, this is too much. I get you want to test our stamina, but you're killing us here…" Kendall mentions in agreement, while wiping his face with his shirt.

Mr. X rolls his eyes. "Ugh, fine. Have a break then. You danced well anyway." He says and the guys all collapse to the floor right away, catching their breath and groaning at their strained muscles.

Carlos closes his eyes as he lies on the floor, hoping the guys don't hear his wheezing.

"Dude, awesome call about that break. I was a little surprised it was coming from you though, since you were so on your game with the dancing. Seriously, did not know you had that in you." James tells him from the other side of the floor.

"Yeah, man, where have you been hiding all of that?" Kendall asks him.

Carlos wants to answer, but is still breathing heavily and is trying to clear his vision, willing for the world to stop spinning so fast.

"Carlos?" He hears in the far background. He opens his eyes and looks into the concerned brown orbs of Logan suddenly. "want semehhajdj?" He frowns at the jumbled mess of Logan's words. "Are you?" He frowns harder in confusion.

"What?" He whispers. Logan frowns as well and turns his head. After a moment, two more faces pop up next to him.

"Carlos?" He can hear in the background still. Then, a sudden SLAP brings him back. He can feel his cheek stinging, but the world stops turning and he looks up in a slight daze.

"Dude…" Logan says as he punches James in the shoulder. James rubs it with a wince.

"What? We were trying to wake him up, weren't we?" James argues.

"Are you okay, buddy?" Kendall asks him with worried eyes.

"Here, have some water." Logan offers as he opens a bottle of water. Carlos shakes his head.

"No, is fine… We should get back to dance rehearsal…" he struggles to get out. The guys exchange looks. He goes to get up, when a coughing fit attacks him. The guys help him sit up and rub his back. He tries not to let any tears come out for the excruciating pain he feels in his throat with every cough.

"Again, have some water." Logan says as the coughing fit dies down. Carlos slowly sips a little of the offered water, before coughing again a few times. He still breathes heavily and looks at his friends through tired eyes. "Better?" Logan asks him. Carlos nods.

"I'll go tell Mr. X we're done with dance rehearsal." Kendall says before standing up.

Carlos wants to protest, but the moment he opens his mouth, he coughs again. He sniffles as his nose starts to run again as well. Logan hands him another tissue. But before he goes to blow his nose, he coughs. He sighs in frustration when he's done.

"Dude, I'm not a doctor, but that cough really doesn't sound healthy." James tells him. Carlos glares at him.

"I'm fine…" He says, groaning at how nasal he suddenly sounds. Logan watches him with worry. What is going on? How does he go from being a little tired to coughing up a storm, nose being stuffy and looking pale again?

"We better get you home." Logan tells him.

"What, no?" Carlos protests and pushes Logan away when he grabs hold of his arm to pull him up.

"Carlos…"

"No, Logan. I already said I'm fine. We don't have to…" He is interrupted by a loud cough. "We don't have to go home. In case you forgot, we have a concert in three days. We have to…" He sneezes. "We ha…" he sneezes again. "We need to practice." He says, sniffling and coughing again.

Logan raises an eyebrow at him.

"So you'd rather collapse on stage on Saturday in front of all our fans?" Logan questions him. Carlos opens his mouth to say something, but doesn't know what to say to that. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Come on, let's go." Carlos rolls his eyes, but lets Logan and James help him stand up.

Kendall comes back into the studio, looking angry.

"What's with you?" James asks him, but Kendall turns and looks at the doorway, where Gustavo appears.

"Dogs, let me remind you of something; you do not decide when rehearsals are over. I decide that. I decide when you're ready, because I can decide whether or not you perform on Saturday." He explains, Kelly standing next to him, rolling her eyes.

"Gustavo, Carlos is sick. He needs to rest or he can't perform on Saturday at all." Kendall argues. Kelly shoots a worried look towards the Latino, who can't fully catch his breath still and coughs now and then.

"Really? Well, how about this; I am sick of all this whining. Carlos looks fine to me and since we only have THREE days left, we will continue rehearsal!" Gustavo booms.

"Gustavo, if Carlos is really sick…" Kelly starts.

"No, rehearsal is not cancelled. Just get him some Tylenol and finish up! Two more hours of dance rehearsal and then I expect you in the vocal booth for another four hours." He orders, before turning around and leaving before anyone can protest.

"I'm sorry, guys." Kelly tells them as she looks at the already exhausted looking foursome with apologetic eyes. "Griffin has been on our case about this concert. A lot of important sponsors are going to be there and he wants it to go as smoothly as possible." The guys sigh. "Look, just go through this rehearsal, but take it easy and if you feel the need to stop, just do. Mr. X isn't heartless and I will make sure he looks after you." She tells them with a warm smile, before following Gustavo.

"Well, this is just great." Kendall complains angrily.

"Guys, will you just relax?" Carlos says, before coughing. "I am fine." All three guys look at him in disbelief. "Seriously, I can handle it. This is our concert, too and I don't want to screw it up by missing rehearsal. So…" he coughs. "Let's do this." He says, determined once again to keep going.

Everyone keeps an eye on him and while Mr. X does notice how slow he is and how much he is stumbling and screwing up the steps, he doesn't say anything. One look at Carlos' face would tell anyone that he's not going to take no for an answer right now.

But after another hour, even Mr. X has had enough and has to boys stop dancing. He tells them to head for the break room to rest up, while he goes to let Gustavo know they're done for the day.

Carlos feels angry. He knows Mr. X only stopped rehearsal because of him. It's so stupid. He feels fine. So he's suddenly dead tired and out of breath. And so what if his nose suddenly feels stuffy and he's coughing? He can still dance.

He sits on the white couch in the break room with his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face and ignoring his friends.

"Dude, seriously. You can deny it all you want, but you are sick." Kendall tells him. Carlos huffs in response and coughs loudly.

"That cough really doesn't sound good, Carlos. We should take you to see a doctor." Logan tells his friend.

"Yeah, good luck getting me there." Carlos mumbles stubbornly.

Logan glares at him and shakes his head. "Hey, I am just looking out for you. What if it's something bad, huh? Wouldn't you want to know so you can get better?"

"Logan, it is just a stupid cold, alright? Besides the coughing, I am fine." Carlos states. Logan opens his mouth to say something, when Gustavo stalks in.

"Dogs, now that dance rehearsal is done one hour early, it means we have an extra hour to practice harmonies." The guys look up in disbelief. "Let's go, NOW!" He hollers at them. They glare at him, but follow anyway.

An hour later, the guys hurry out of the studio as fast as they can, slightly relieved to be allowed to leave early, but a little scared at the furious Gustavo who yells at them in the background.

"Just get him to see a doctor right now to stop that constant coughing! Don't com back until he is fixed!" Gustavo yells and the guys grin. Carlos stalks past his friends, looking even angrier than before.

"Well, at least now we finally get to take him to a doctor." Kendall says with a shrug.

"What do you mean, finally? He hasn't even been sick for like three days now." James reminds him.

Logan just watches Carlos as they head for the limo, with Kelly following closely behind. They know he would have never gone with just them. So she's there for reinforcement.

The ride to Doc Hollywood is quiet. Tension hangs in the air, with Carlos angrily staring out the window and purposely not acknowledging his friend's presence. He doesn't say a word, not even when they sit in the waiting room for their turn.

"Carlos Garcia?" A young man in a white coat asks as he walks into the waiting room. The guys frown.

"Uh, yeah." Logan answers as he motions for Carlos to get up. The Latino rolls his eyes, but gets up anyway. Everyone goes to follow, when the young man turns to them in disbelief.

"You're all coming in with him?" He asks with raised eyebrows. The guys exchange glances.

"Uh, no." Kendall says, shooting James a look when he opens his mouth to protest. "Just Logan and Kelly." He says, pulling James with him. "We'll wait out here."

Logan and Kelly follow the man with Carlos. They grow even more confused when they see no one else in the doctor's office.

"Uh, so where's Doctor Hollywood?" Logan asks as the young man motions for Carlos to sit on the table, while he pulls up a stool.

"Oh, he's on vacation. I'm filling in for him. My name is Dr. Lemmingway." The man says swiftly, before directing his attention to a notebook of some kind.

"Aren't you a little young to be a doctor?" Kelly asks him. The man has blond hair and looks to be about 21.

"I finished medical school early." The man says, not even looking up at them. Logan and Kelly exchange glances. "So, Mr. Garcia, what can I do for you?"

As if on cue, Carlos coughs loudly.

"That." Logan simply says as he motions to Carlos, who rolls his eyes again.

"And is this the only problem?" The man asks, a look of disinterest on his face.

"Uh, no. He also has a stuffy nose, a light fever and he's tired all the time. He threw up a couple of days ago and he had a headache last night." Logan lists, while Kelly's eyes grow wide.

"Hm, hm." The doctor responds. He grabs a thermometer and puts it in Carlos' ear without warning, making him yelp slightly. When he hears the beep, the doctor takes it out and looks at it, writing something down.

"So…" Logan starts. The doctor takes a stethoscope.

"Could you take off our shirt?" He asks Carlos. He frowns and looks at Logan questioningly.

"He wants to listen to your chest. It's easier without your shirt on." Logan explains. Carlos looks a little weary still, but removes his shirt slowly anyway. He avoids looking at the other two in the room, looking a little embarrassed as he tries to hide his chest.

Without warning, the doctor puts the cold device on his chest.

"Now, take a deep breath." The doctor orders. Carlos does it, but the minute the air arrives at his throat, he coughs immediately. "Again." The doctor asks. Carlos tries to take another deep breath, but once again, he violently starts to cough in the end.

The doctor moves the stethoscope to his back and goes to listen again. But Carlos can't breathe in and out without starting to cough right away.

After trying two more times, the doctor pulls away.

"You can get dressed now." He tells Carlos, who quickly puts his shirt back on.

Dr. Lemmingway moves to his desk and Logan looks at him expectantly.

"So, did you hear something?" He asks and Carlos frowns. "Any rattling or clotting or something?" Logan adds, making Carlos understand better.

"Well, he only has a slight temperature, but I didn't hear anything wrong with his chest. So, I think it's just a cold, combined with the flu." The doctor tells them.

"But what about all the other symptoms? I mean, they keep disappearing." Logan says, sounding a little aggravated.

"That is strange, but his body might just fight the virus very quickly. So, I think this might be over in a few days. Just rest and drink plenty of fluids." The doctor says. Logan stands up, his mouth open to protest, when Kelly drags him away.

"Thank you doctor." Kelly tells him with a smile. The man briefly returns one and then looks at his notebook again. Carlos shuffles after the two quietly. The minute they close the door behind them, Logan explodes.

"Unbelievable! How did he even become a doctor? He hardly even talked to Carlos, didn't even look him in the eye!" He exasperatedly calls out.

"Logan, I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Kelly assures him, but doesn't sound very convinced herself. "Maybe it is just a cold with the flu."

"So, what did he say?" James and Kendall immediately ask when they come back.

"He said it's just a cold." Logan angrily tells them. The other two guys are taken aback by his reaction. "The guy was like 21, he didn't even look at Carlos. He just… There is no way this is just a cold combined with the flu. He said Carlos just needs to rest and drink plenty of fluids and it should be over in a few days. Yeah, right…" He grumbles. Carlos just lags behind him a little, all quiet except for some coughing now and then.

"I say we get a second opinion." Logan announces when they get back in the limo.

"What? Visit another doctor?" Carlos suddenly pipes up.

"Yeah, because this can't be it." Logan explains.

"God, Logan, you're just jealous that wasn't you in there." Carlos suddenly says, making everyone look at him in shock. "Oh come on, how do you know it's not a cold and the flu? You may be really smart, Logan, but you're not a doctor and he is. So maybe we should just take his word for it, since he studied for it and all." Carlos says, before crossing his arms and staring out the window again.

The others aren't sure what to say. They can see the hurt look on Logan's face. That had to sting. It had always been his dream to become a doctor. So yeah, maybe he is a little jealous. But that doesn't mean he can't tell when someone isn't good at their job.

Kendall and James shoot him sympathetic looks, as does Kelly. But Logan just sends them a small smile and also starts to stare out the window without another word.

The guys are surprised when Kelly has them dropped off at The Palm Woods instead of the studio. She assures them she will deal with Gustavo. They should just get Carlos to bed.

When they head inside, everyone notices the tension right away. Carlos heads for his bedroom right away, slamming the door behind him in anger. Logan also heads towards his bedroom, but looks a lot more dejected.

"So, uh, should I even ask?" Mrs. Knight asks when the apartment is hulled in silence. The other two just exchange a glance.

The only thing heard the rest of the day is coughing from Carlos' room, which seems to sound worse every hour. Logan hears it and winces, before pulling out his laptop and frantically starting to search for all the symptoms, with his medical books beside him.

**A/N Ok, don't know if this chapter is very good, but I need some in-between chapters for the real angst to start ;)**

**Thanks again for all the support! I loved the Big Time Movie last night, hoping to watch it again tomorrow! **

**Meanwhile, my own throat is hurting really bad, so probably spending a day in bed tomorrow. I am trying to edit some BTR videos in the meantime though. I want to make at least one Cargan one and a Kenlos one, but it's going to take a while. There is so much footage to go through, especially Cargan :P Logan just can't stop staring and licking his lips :P**

**Anyway, until next time, I'll try to update again soon. Let me know what you think and if you have any requests for angsty Carlos one shots, I'm always up for those, so let me know ;)**

**Love, Baxxie**


	5. Chapter 5 We didn't realize

Chapter 5 We didn't realize…

The next two days are a little strange for the people in 2J. It's quiet and a little boring. Carlos isn't coughing as much, thankfully, but it's also weird. He is still tired though and doesn't have the energy to do a lot. Kelly has insisted to Gustavo that they get plenty of rest before the concert, so they only had to do the dress rehearsal, which went okay. Gustavo wasn't happy to say the least, but Carlos seemed a little better and he promised he would be fine for the concert the next day.

The guys are making sure he really does get enough rest, meaning they let him sleep a lot. It seems to be helping. But it doesn't make him any less grumpy. He still hasn't apologized to Logan, whom spends a lot of time in his room as well, looking through medical books. Whenever they are in a room together, tension builds up, making the others flee. Logan tries to help Carlos and keeps a very concerned eye on him. But this only aggravates Carlos more and makes him even angrier with Logan than he already was.

Truthfully, he isn't mad at Logan. He feels guilty for saying what he said when they got back from the doctor. But he just feels so frustrated. He wants to be energetic and jump around, like he always does. And joke around and make people happy. But he feels so tired and weak all the time. Not that he lets the others see that. He tries to make it seem like he's doing better. It does help that the coughing has basically stopped. No idea how that is possible, but he's grateful for it.

He is also grateful he was able to put up such a good act during dress rehearsal. It didn't go as perfect as he had hoped, but they were happy with him and he was able to convince Gustavo he would be better the next day. They didn't see him rush off stage and into the bathroom, where he nearly collapsed out of pure exhaustion. They didn't hear or see him throw up and thank god they didn't seem to notice how much out of breath he was.

He's also getting better at hiding how he's feeling from Mama Knight and making everyone believe he's fine when they're eating. He's been able to keep it down mostly, thankfully. But every time he takes a bite of whatever they're having, his stomach feels like it's doing summersaults. It's horrible and cruel to him, because food has always been important to him. He loves to eat, but now he feels so sick, he wonders if he'll ever love it again. Next to that, he has been feeling a sharp pain in his side now and then. Probably has to do with all that dancing lately and not eating enough.

The guys all head to bed early Thursday night, but no one gets any sleep. They're too excited for the concert. They're dying to show the fans their new choreography to their new songs. Well, three of them are. Logan can't help but feel something is going to go wrong tomorrow. With Carlos not talking to him, he is able to quietly observe the Latino and feels more and more worried about him. He tosses and turns, sighing when another bad image pops into his head.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" Kendall's voice quietly asks from across the room.

"Not exactly…" Logan responds.

"I know, I'm so excited. I can't wait for the fans to see our new dance moves. How do you think they'll react? Do you think they'll like it?" Kendall excitedly ponders.

"I think we should cancel." Logan quietly answers. The room is hulled in complete silence for a moment, before he feels Kendall shifting in his bed.

"Wait, what?" The blond asks in the dark. Logan sighs.

"I just… I've got a really bad feeling about tomorrow. I know we've practiced everything plenty, but what if it doesn't go so well tomorrow? And Carlos is still sick…" He starts to ramble, when Kendall interrupts.

"Whoah, whoa… Logan, relax. It's okay to be nervous. I mean, hell, I'm nervous too. But you need to get these doom scenarios out of your head. Nothing bad is going to happen. It's going to be fine. We're going to have the time of our lives and you saw Carlos during rehearsal today. He looked fine." Kendall assures him.

"But…" He argues.

"No buts, Logan. Everything is going to be fine. Just enjoy it, all right? Stop worrying and have fun tomorrow. You'll see, it'll be the best day of our life!" Kendall gushes so excitedly, it makes Logan smile. "Now get some sleep, we've got a busy day tomorrow!"

"Okay. Thanks Kendall. Goodnight." He softly calls out. But the light snoring from the other side of the room tells him Kendall has finally fallen asleep. He chuckles to himself and puts his hands under his head.

Maybe Kendall is right. Maybe he should stop worrying. He always worries so much, that he can't enjoy things like he wants. He should enjoy life more.

The thoughts put a smile on his face. He closes his eyes and is about to fall asleep, when he hears a faint cough in the distance. The smile fades and the worry comes back full force. It's not the concert itself he's worried about…

The next morning Logan suddenly finds himself waking up to an empty room. His eyes widen as he tries to shake the sleep from his body. He doesn't even remember falling asleep, but is glad he did. He slowly gets up and heads into the living room, where everyone is already happily munching away on breakfast.

"Hey, there he is." Kendall announces.

"Dude, we thought you'd never wake up. You were more out of it than Carlos." The Latino in question glares as James ruffles his hair.

"Yeah, well, I guess I was more tired than I thought." He answers with a smile.

"You're not getting sick, too, are you?" Kendall asks worriedly with a frown. Logan just shakes his head and goes into the kitchen to grab himself a glass and bowl for breakfast. "You okay?" Kendall suddenly asks beside him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Logan quietly answers.

"Still worried about tonight?" Kendall asks low enough that the others won't hear.

"A little." He admits. Kendall puts an arm around his shoulders.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine, remember? Best night of our lives!" Kendall reminds him with a big smile. Logan just smiles back. It fades a little when he eyes Carlos, slowly nibbling on a piece of toast. Again. "And don't worry about him either. I'm sure things will be good between you two before the concert even starts." Kendall tells him with a wink.

Logan frowns a little at him, but then follows him to the dinner table to eat.

After breakfast, the guys are hyped up on nerves and energy. They get ready and head for the venue for last minute rehearsals with the full stage set up. (A/N Just think of the BWU stage set-up ;))

As they get to the venue, they smile as they already see some fans lined up outside. They drive around to a different entrance and get out of the car. James and Kendall rush inside right away. Logan is about to follow them, when a hand on his shoulder stops him. He turns around and finds Carlos nervously staring at his shoes.

"I just uh… I wanted to… Good luck tonight." He mutters. Logan nods.

"Right. You too." He answers and goes to walk away again.

"No, wait." Carlos calls out and he turns around again. "I'm sorry, Logan, for what I said. I know it's always been your dream to become a doctor and what I said was totally uncalled for. I shouldn't have said that. You were just trying to help." He tells his friend.

"It's okay, Carlos. I guess I was a little jealous of that guy." Logan admits with a small smile.

"You are happy with being in the band, right? I mean, I don't want you to be unhappy just because you want us to be happy." Carlos asks him, sounding genuinely concerned. Logan can't help but smile wider.

"Don't worry, Carlos. I am happy with being in BTR." He assures, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Okay, good." Carlos says with a sigh of relief. "So, are we okay?" He innocently asks, pointing between Logan and him. Logan chuckles.

"Yes, 'Litos. We're okay. Now let's go and have the time of our lives!" he shouts out with glee, before rushing off inside. Carlos laughs and tries to run as well. But the minute he does, a sharp pain hits his side. He winces and stops. He rubs his side a little and frowns. He looks around to find out if anyone saw him. When he sees no one, he just shakes it off and heads inside as well.

The guys enjoy every minute of getting ready for the concert. They especially love the sound check with the small amount of fans surrounding them. They goof off and are happy being themselves, even if Gustavo is growling at them from the side.

Afterwards they head for their dressing rooms to get dressed and ready for the actual show to start. They all feel the butterflies in their stomach. But the closer it gets to the concert, the more Logan's feelings are changing. He wants to shake it off, but again he feels like something is going to happen. The minute the stage manager calls them to the stage, he s full-fledged panicking. He joins the other guys, who still look excited as ever.

He stares at Carlos, trying to see any sign of the boy still being sick. But either he can hide it really well or he's fine now. Logan is practically shaking as they stand backstage, ready to stand on their elevator to lift them up.

"Dude, isn't this awesome?" Kendall asks him as he puts an arm around his shoulder again. The guys can hear the girls screaming for them and are jumping with excitement. Logan just shakes his head. "Enough with the worrying, dude. I told you, it's going to be fine. Just enjoy it!" Kendall tells him, before letting go. "Here we go." He says with a wink.

Logan tries to smile, but can't seem to do it. His heart is thumping so loud. They've had concerts before, he has felt nerves before. This isn't the same. He quickly puts a hand on Kendall's arm.

"We can't go on. We need to stop the concert." He says, before walking backwards.

"Logan, what are you talking about? We're about to go on. We can't stop now." Kendall tells him as he follows him with a frown. He grabs his arm and tries to pull him back. Logan just shakes his head in refusal.

"What's going on?" James asks as he and Carlos have followed them.

"Logan wants us to stop the concert." Kendall informs them. Their eyes widen.

"What?" James asks in bafflement. "Dude, what is wrong with you? Do you not hear all those screaming girls? They're here for us. We can't just bail."

"Logan, it's okay to be nervous." Carlos quietly tells him. "I mean, I feel really nervous too. It's normal."

"No, these aren't nerves. I've felt nerves before. This is different, this is me sensing something bad is going to happen if we get up there." Logan tells them.

"Hey, what is going on? The fans are getting restless." Luke, the stage manager asks them.

"We'll be right there." Kendall tells him with a smile. The guy just rolls his eyes and rushes off again, shouting in his mouth piece.

"Come on, dude. Nothing is going to happen. We have security guards surrounding the stage, we have practiced everything a thousand times. Everything will be fine." James tries to assure Logan. Carlos squeezes his shoulder affectionately.

"But…"

"Guys, we can't wait any longer. You have to get up there, now!" Luke yells at them.

Kendall nods quickly. They all look at Logan desperately. He sighs and reluctantly nods, the feeling only growing stronger every minute.

The guys smile and cheer, before they step onto the lift together and listen as the first song starts to play.

Logan feels more energized when the first two songs have gone on without a hitch. He gets more into it and smiles more and more, jumping around the stage with his friends, indeed having the time of his life. He looks around and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees all three of the others having just as much fun.

All four of them stand on a different height as they stand on the platforms of the stage. They all dance and sing and act crazy. Logan is standing on a platform on the left side of the stage, while Carlos is standing on the same height platform on the right side. They meet each other's gazes and grin excitedly.

Logan turns his direction back towards the screaming crowd, when he hears a cough in his earpiece. He turns his head and sees Carlos with his back to the crowd, coughing into his hand. He frowns a little, but the moment passes and they continue to dance. He tries to catch Carlos' gaze again, but his smile fades right away when he notices his Hispanic friend on the other side of the stage.

His eyes seem a little glazed over. He is breathing hard and sweating a lot more than he should. As he watches his friend wipe the sweat of his brow, he can't help but notice that his hands seem to be shaking slightly. He is so concerned; he almost misses his cue to sing. He quickly gets back into the song, sneaking occasional glances towards his friend.

Carlos is trying his best to keep up with the fast pace of the show. But he can feel his body slowly turning against him. It's so hot, yet so cold at the same time. His hands have started to shake and he feels slightly lightheaded. He can feel Logan staring at him and tries to shake it off. But he feels so tired. He nearly stumbles over his feet when they do a fast paced dance move. His chest is heaving and he feels out of breath so quickly. He's longing for a small break. But one more song to go.

They run down the platform and onto the main stage again when the dance break for Love Me, Love Me comes on. Carlos is having fun and keeping up, when the sharp pain in his side almost makes him stop. He tries hard not to let it show, but the pain doesn't just ebb away this time. It seems to get worse with every movement he makes.

The guys jump and run around like crazy and while Carlos hasn't missed a single cue, it's getting harder and harder to stay on his feet. The pain is increasing, sweat is dripping down his face, while the stage seems to move on its own. His chest is starting to burn as he tries to dance, run and sing at the same time.

It's when he's back on the middle platform that he notices it. He keeps on dancing, but the sharp pains in his side are killing him. A hand naturally shoots towards it and grabs his side as he scrunches up his face in pain. He tries to keep singing, but it's starting to hurt to breathe. His throat is burning and his stomach turns.

Everything hits him at once all of a sudden; one sharp pain has him nearly crying out, when he suddenly finds he can't breathe properly anymore. He shuts his eyes because of the pain in his chest and his side. His knees are wobbling and he nearly falls down.

The other guys are so busy dancing and reacting to their fans; they haven't noticed the suffering going on behind them. But the fans have. They can see Carlos paling more and more and grabbing his side and chest in pain. A couple of fans scream and even point towards him to get the other guys' attention.

Carlos tries to sing, but breathing is becoming harder and harder. He hears some fans' screams sounding a little different. He opens his eyes and tries to locate them. But his vision starts to swim right away. He shakes his head to get rid of it, making it much and much worse.

Then his verse comes up. But instead of his angelic voice sounding through the speakers, an awful wheezing is heard.

The guys immediately turn towards him. Their eyes widen in shock at his ashen face. They rush forward and Kendall is barely able to reach him in time when his knees buckle and he falls forward.

Fans scream in horror as Carlos collapses in Kendall's arms. The music stops right away as the guys surround their friend.

"Carlos, can you hear me?" Kendall questions, his voice full of worry.

"Someone call an ambulance!" James calls out and a band member runs off right away.

"Carlos?" Kendall calls out again.

"It hu-hurts…" Carlos weakly rasps as he wheezes.

"We have to get him backstage." Logan calls out.

Security tries to keep the fans under control, while the guys rush Carlos towards the back of the stage and towards the lift to get them down and backstage.

"Don't worry, buddy, you're going to be fine." Kendall tries to assure him, while Carlos moans and clutches his side. His eyes are scrunched up in pain.

"H-Hu-hurts…" He wheezes.

"Don't talk, okay, you're going to be fine." Logan tries to assure and puts his head on Carlos' chest suddenly. The other guys frown.

"The ambulance will be here in five minutes." Luke informs them. "We're sending everyone home." He explains right away. "How is he?"

"His breathing sounds really bad. I can hear rattling, meaning there might be fluids in his lungs or something." He tells them. Kendall gets on his knees and puts Carlos' head in his lap.

"Come on, buddy. Just try to breathe." He tries to coax, to ease his mind a little and make him feel that he's doing something at least. "Dude, the heat is radiating off of him." He worriedly says as he holds the now more and more paling boy.

Logan quickly puts a hand on his forehead and pulls it away just as fast. He shakes his head.

"I can't believe this. I thought he was fine, that he was feeling better. There is no way he could catch a fever that high in such a short time." He tells his friends, seemingly angry and somewhat guilty as well. "Where is that ambulance?" He says, frantically looking around.

"Logan, this isn't your fault." Kendall tells him.

Suddenly, Carlos cries out in pain. The guys whip their heads around to him. Kendall tries to soothe him, while Logan kneels next to him. He frowns at the trembling hand that clutches Carlos' side.

"H-how come he's in so much pain?" James quietly asks, his voice slightly shaking.

"I'm not sure…" Logan answers quietly. He goes to lift Carlos' hand and carefully lifts his shirt. He frowns again when he can't see anything. He hesitates for a moment, but then lifts his own hands towards the spot Carlos was holding. He carefully touches the spot. His hand is pulled back as if burned, when Carlos screams.

"What was that?" Kendall asks him as he holds his friend down, who has begun to trash around.

"I hardly touched him." Logan says, seemingly pondering on what is happening. Just then, Carlos starts to gasp. His eyes open wide and panicky.

"Carlos, Carlos, what's wrong?" Kendall asks, also sounding panicky. But Carlos doesn't answer, he just lays there, gasping, body trembling. "Logan, what's happening?"

Logan's eyes widen as well. But he doesn't answer Kendall, instead he moves forward quickly, putting his face into Carlos' line of vision.

"Carlos, try to stay calm. Just focus on your breathing." He tries to coax, but with every gasp, Carlos winces and he panics more and more. "Carlos, come on, buddy, in and out, in and out…"

"I c-ca-an't br…" Carlos gasps loudly.

"Don't talk, just focus on your breathing. I know it hurts right now, but you have to try." Logan tells him, practically pleading. He looks up again and frantically looks for any sign of paramedics.

Then he turns around and angrily looks at all the crewmembers that are standing around them, staring.

"What are you all standing around for? Go and see if that ambulance is here yet!" He yells at them.

"Carlos? Carlos!" Kendall suddenly calls out from behind him. He turns back and pales when he sees Carlos is suddenly eerily still. Kendall is trying to shake him and then looks up at Logan with frightened eyes. "I don't hear the wheezing anymore…"

"Put him down on the floor." Logan tells him quickly. Kendall carefully lifts Carlos' head out of his lap. Logan rushes over and puts his head to the boy's chest. When he comes back up, the others stare at him questioningly. "He's not breathing…" He mutters.

**A/N Hi! Here's another chapter! Sorry if it's bad, I'm starting to get writer's block :/ Hoping it won't go on. Been trying to write this chapter for about a week now, so yeah…**

**But let me know what you guys think Reviews make me happy!**

**Still trying to get over all these vacation pics of the guys. Really, Carlos? A speedo? I mean, the guy looks hot and only gets hotter, but never ever wear a speedo again. It doesn't look good on any guy!**

**And James, flaunting those amazing Cabo pictures in my face. Ugh, I've never wanted a vacation more… **

**Am feeling slightly mad at all these 'fans' threatening Halston now. I mean, come on. Did you really think you'd stand a chance with him? They've been together for like a year, just like Carlos and Sam. Why can't the guys just be happy? And then you wonder why they won't come out and admit they have girlfriends. Hello?**

**Sorry, had to get that out. Anyway, please enjoy my story and I'm going back to edit my Carlos video, hoping to be able to post it this week. It's taking up so much time :P**

**Thanks guys for your support and hoping for some more reviews this time. But glad you're liking it **

**Love, Baxxie**


	6. Chapter 6 Getting help

Chapter 6 Getting help

James can feel the ground being washed away from underneath him when he hears those words.

_He's not breathing…_

They echo in his mind as he watches his best friend lying on the ground, not moving. His face is so pale, not the mocha colored tan he should have. Even his lips have turned ashen.

The whole backstage area has gone completely silent as they stare at the small form on the ground in horror.

"Logan?" Kendall quietly asks suddenly, his voice shaking. He looks at his other friend, who seems frozen completely. "Logan?" he asks again and the smart friend looks up at him slowly, with tears already in his eyes. "What do we do?"

Logan looks back at his still friend, trying to push his mind into working again. He should know what to do. He wanted to become a doctor someday. He knows what to do… Then why is it so hard to remember?

Then, suddenly, another voice rings through, breaking the silence.

"The paramedics are here guys, make way!" Dustin's voice sounds as everyone steps aside to give the medics room to move over to them. The two men immediately kneel down next to Logan and start to check his vital signs.

"What happened?" One paramedic asks and he looks at Logan as the other checks Carlos' pulse.

"I…" Is all Logan can bring out suddenly. It's getting harder to think at all now.

"He's got a pulse, but it's weak. And he's not breathing." The other man says. They spring into action and grab an air pump to help start his breathing again.

"He's got a pretty high fever as well. How long has he been like this?" The paramedic not squeezing the air pump asks Logan. But the usually so smart guy just stares at Carlos' chest as it still won't move on its own.

Kendall watches everyone quietly and then decides to step in.

"Uh, he's been sick for a few days. The doctor said it was a cold combined with the flu. He's been coughing pretty bad and sneezing. He seemed fine before we went on stage, but when we were dancing, he suddenly collapsed. He uh... He had trouble breathing and he seemed to be in a lot of pain." The blond explains as he tries to avoid looking at his best friend so motionless still.

"This isn't working, Steve. We're going to have to intubate." The first paramedic says. Kendall steps back again and puts his arms around his frozen best friends, holding them close. Together they watch as the two men put a breathing tube down Carlos' throat and then again squeeze the air pump as they attach it to the tube.

They quickly lift him onto a gurney and before anyone realizes it, they are already wheeling him down the hall and towards the exit.

"Is anyone coming with him?" One of the men suddenly asks as they load him into the waiting ambulance.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kendall asks them, too dazed to realize what they actually asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to check him in the hospital. But does anyone want to come with us?" The paramedic called Steve asks again.

"I want to go…" James suddenly quietly asks. It's so quiet; Kendall is surprised anyone heard it. Then he nods and lets go of his tall friend, who slowly and still in obvious shock is helped into the ambulance as well.

"We'll be right behind you, James." Kendall tells him firmly, but James doesn't respond. Kendall watches as the doors close and the ambulance drives off with wailing sirens. "Come on, Logan, let's go after them." He says quietly and leads the still frozen Logan towards another car. "We'll call everyone else on the way."

As they sit in the car now being driven by a band member, since they were in no condition to drive themselves, Kendall lets it all sink in.

How did this happen? How did they not see that Carlos wasn't fine at all? Logan had been right all along. Something did happen. They should have just listened to him.

And of course this was the one night Kelly and Gustavo or any of their family members couldn't come and see them. It leaved them practically alone in their suffering. No, wait, not their suffering. Carlos is the one suffering.

He turns his head to look at Logan, who still hasn't returned from that place somewhere in his mind. Kendall wonders what he's thinking. But he knows it'll probably be the same thing he's thinking of. Or rather, the same person.

With shaking hands, he calls anyone who he can think of that should be informed. They all respond in complete shock, not unexpected of course.

Moments later they find themselves in a small waiting area, hoping for someone to come and tell them what is happening. Then, an even paler James emerges through the double doors.

"James, what's going on? Is he okay?" Kendall asks right away.

"I don't… They cut up his favorite shirt and starting shouting stuff I didn't understand and then they pushed me out." He stammers, his voice laced with panic. Kendall squeezes his arm.

"It's okay, James. I'm sure they just needed room to take care of him." Kendall assures him. Then, the doors open again and Carlos is suddenly being wheeled right by them. Kendall and James shoot up right away.

"Hey, wait! Where are you taking him? What's going on?" Kendall shouts after the doctors and nurses, who are rushing their friend towards an elevator.

"We're taking him into surgery. His spleen is badly infected and it needs to come out, now!" A doctor responds, before quickly pressing a button. The two friends stand again in horror and shock, but can't ask anything else as the doors close right in front of them.

"H-his spleen? Doesn't he n-need that?" James asks, his face full of worry.

"I-I don't know…" Kendall responds in all honesty. He doesn't know anything about that sort of stuff. That's Logan's territory. Speaking of which, he looks back again towards the spot where he left his best friend. But the teen is still sitting in the waiting chair, not moving and staring off into space.

"Kendall? Boys?" A female voice suddenly calls out. Kendall rushes forward when his mother approaches, her eyes full of worry. He latches himself in her arms and she just holds him for a moment. "Are you guys okay? I came as fast as I could." She says as she lets go of Kendall.

"Yeah, we're okay…" He answers in a small voice, shaking once again and laced with a hint of fear.

"What happened, how is he doing?" A frantic Katie suddenly asks from right beside her, her eyes wide.

"They just took him up for surgery. They said his spleen was infected? I'm not sure what it means, but they have to remove it." Kendall tells them.

In the meantime, Mrs. Knight quietly approaches James, who is staring at the elevators. The moment he sees her, he starts to shake. The moment she holds out her arms, the first tears spill and James is gone.

"So what happened?" Katie asks again as James' sobs are heard in the background. Kendall takes her to sit down and takes a deep breath. He tells her the whole story about what happened on the stage and up to the point where they found him no longer breathing. Katie may be young, but she's smart and she would have demanded to know anyway.

"It was so scary, baby sis. Just seeing him lying there. That wasn't Carlos. I was just waiting for him to jump up and laugh at us for falling for one of his stupid pranks. But then his lips started to turn blue and it just became so real… And then Logan froze up or something and I…" he takes a deep breath and tries to ignore his trembling bottom lip. "I don't know…" He says as he tries to keep from bursting out in tears. Then he feels a hand slipping into his. He looks down and sees Katie holding on tightly, her big eyes full of fear.

"It's going to be okay, big brother. Carlos will fight to get better." She tells him and he nods. "He has to…" She adds in a whisper and he pulls her into a hug. Both siblings sit trembling in each other's arms for a moment, until they both let go and smile reassuringly.

Kendall averts his gaze back to Logan.

"Kendall, do you think maybe he's in shock? I mean, he's not even moving." Katie tells him when she follows his gaze.

"I don't know." He says when he stands up and kneels down in front of his friend, who doesn't seem to acknowledge his presence.

"Buddy?" He asks quietly as he stares into the far away gaze of his smart friend. "Logan?" he asks again and places a hand on the brunet's knee. "Are you in there, buddy?" when he doesn't get a response, he sighs. "I uh… I know that it was really scary what happened back there." He says in a quiet voice, as his mind reverts back to those blue lips. "But you shouldn't shut yourself off like this, Logan, it's not healthy… Please just talk to us. We… We're scared, too…" He says, his bottom lip trembling again as tears start to form in his eyes. "I'm scared…" He whispers. When Logan still doesn't respond, he closes his eyes and tries desperately not to fall apart. He's not used to falling apart so quickly. But then again, he's never been through a situation like this and Carlos might be dying right now. And James already fell apart, while Logan is off into lalaland… It's hard to stay strong.

"Please say something, Logie…" he chokes out. "Anything…" He pleads.

"Only he calls me that…" A voice suddenly mutters. He looks up, where Logan still sits motionless, that dead look in his eyes.

"What?" he whispers.

"Carlos calls me Logie…" If he didn't see Logan's lips moving, he would have sworn he wasn't the one who said that. His voice sounds so emotionless.

"Uh, yeah, he does…" Kendall says in response, not sure of what else to say to that.

"I knew he was still sick." He then adds in the same tone. "I knew he was sick, I could feel it and I just let him go on anyway."

Kendall frowns. "What? Logan, you can't be seriously blaming yourself for what happened…"

"I knew that stupid doctor was wrong and I knew something bad was going to happen and I just let it happen." Logan says with a shrug, while still looking at the wall opposite him. "He told me he was fine and I believed him, while I knew he was lying." He says with a strange smile forming on his lips. "Can you believe that?" he says with a haunted chuckle. "I believed he was fine and then he collapsed and stopped breathing." He says, chuckling louder now, while tears are slowly falling down. "He stopped breathing and I couldn't remember what to do. My mind was just a total blank. Isn't that the funniest thing you ever heard?" He asks, while laughing slightly.

Kendall watches him with worried eyes, while James and Katie are held by Mrs. Knight and watch with the same concern.

"He could have died, because of me…" He says, his voice now turning into a whisper as more tears start to spill. Kendall shakes his head and gets up from his knees and pulls him into a hug.

"Shh…" Kendall tries to soothe while the smart boy quietly sobs against his chest.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" He sobs, while Kendall holds him.

"It's not your fault, Logan. Don't ever think any of this was your fault. You tried to warn us and we didn't listen." He says as his own tears slowly come out.

When the double doors suddenly open, everyone looks up. The room is hulled in silence as they stare at the doctor wearing bloody scrubs.

"Carlos Garcia?" He calls out and the world seems to stop.

**A/N Okay, this took me so long. I want to apologize for keeping everyone in suspense for so long. I didn't mean to, but this writer's block is just the worst. I can't even write one-shots to try to cure the writer's block now. I have like zero inspiration right now.**

**Hoping you still like this chapter and sorry for another cliffhanger. I can't tell you when I'll update next. I have other stories I want to update first, if I can. Thank you for your patience and hoping for some more reviews or feedback I'd love to know how to improve my writing, so if anyone has any tips or whatever, just let me know **

**If you are still reading my stories, thank you so much and I hope you enjoy them Let me know your thoughts on any of my stories through review or PM and if you have any Carlos angst/drama requests for one-shots, let me know those, too ;)**

**Thank you so much and until next time!**

**Love, Baxxie**


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